


Derry Girls in Retail

by Thenewwriter



Category: Derry Girls (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:56:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28938132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thenewwriter/pseuds/Thenewwriter
Summary: Sick of Erin complaining that she wants money all the time Mary suggests that she get a job somewhere to earn some money but what if your daughter ends up working with you.
Comments: 64
Kudos: 7





	1. Promotion and a need for a recommendation

"why cant i just have 5 pounds mammy i want to buy a new diary!" Erin threw herself onto the sofa in a strop already she had tried asking her ma for some pocket money but the response was no. "because sitting next to the car claiming that you are washing it is not work if anything its bone idleness!" Erin crossed her arms and stared out of the window lying flat on the sofa "Jenny Joyce gets pocket money when ever she wants and she doesn't do anything. Mary placed the newspaper next to the radio in the kitchen "that's because Jenny Joyce's parents make a lot of money and we don't. Do you release the amount of work your father and I put in to raise two wains? its not cheap you know. Now have you at least considered applying for a Job (Mary took the paper back into her hands and opened it to the job sections which was filled with advertisements for job opening's) now have you considered working at the pet shop?"

Erin looked at her she didnt wanted to be reminded of pets "no i wont work there ever since you gave Toto to Maurine Malarkey" "sure its a lot quieter in the house without him barking so it is" Sarah walked through the door in her dressing gown and sat down at the dinner table "hows the pocket money working out for you Erin love have you got your 5 pounds?" Erin looked away not wanting to give Mary the satisfaction of looking at her sullen face "no aunt Sarah not even a penny" Sarah pulled out a cigarette from her carton "sure i would give you something Erin love but ive just spent my money on some new lottery tickets for the girls at the Salon so i have i hope to become a rich lady."

Erin's ears pricked up "is that the lottery tickets Dennis was selling the brand new ones?" Sarah lit her cigarette "oh aye it was" Erin wanted to hit herself in the face "aunt Sarah those are lottery tickets from Zimbabwe they wont mean a lot over here" Sarah shook her head "i dont think so sure love ive seen the prize the number had a lot of zeros at the end of it." Erin couldn't believe it "how has dennis not been reported to the police or something?!"

Mary clicked her fingers to attempt to control the topic back to the original discussion. "now Erin you need to apply for some jobs" Erin started walking around in circles "mammy manual labor is not for me i prefer a creative job one where im my own boss" Mary almost had enough of it "there are wains in China making clothing your age and when i was wee i got a job at Woolworth's... to pay for you as a baby i might add!" In the distant background came the sound of the letter box "Gerry! can you get that please!" she shouted in the hallway. "Deidre tells me that Michelle got a job selling makeup so if she can work you can"

Gerry walked down the stairs having just given Anna a bath and picked up the letter that was on the doormat "Mrs Mary Quinn" it read in bold letters "Mary love its for you" Mary smiled "oh it might be my promotion letter sure they said i would get a letter stating that i've been promoted to Floor manager finally a wee bit more money coming into this house" she looked at Erin as she said this while Gerry sat next to her and passed the envelope that he had opened.

The letter read

'Dear Mrs Quinn,

On behalf of Woolworth's I would like to congratulate you on your promotion to Floor Manager. We pride yourself as a company on providing career progression within the company and promoting those who provide a good customer experience and your annual performance review suggested that you were the ideal candidate for a promotion.

Your salary has been increased to £16,500 and increase from the £13,000 made before now in regards to your promotion this has left a vacancy in the Customer assistant role would you be able to find a idea candidate who can work with us before we open the job position to external applications,

Yours Sincerely 

Thomas Walsh 

Store Manager and head of Recruitment at Woolworth's Londonderry Branch

Mary smiled at looked at Gerry who smiled back at her and they both looked at Erin who just stood there confused and somewhat scarred. "we've found you a Job Erin"


	2. Meeting the boss

"Well Mary congrats on getting the floor manager job" Tom firmly shock Mary's hand full of confidence on his new floor manager "you know i always thought you would move up to floor manager one day and now you are must be glad to be rid of the till eh" Tom looked out of the window in his small office above the shop floor. "you know me Mary" he notices people walking into the shop hopefully paying customers and not people demanding refunds "i like to appoint people in the right positions and you i see a management position for you" he reached into his pocket in his suit and pulled out a box of Tic Tacs "want one?" Mary shook her head "aw well anyway Mary like i said this is a good fit for you any luck on finding someone to fill the customer assistant role?"

Mary shuffled in her seat looking at the contract lying on the table ready to sign as well as the customer assistant contract fresh from the printer. "well Mr Walsh.. i have" Tom sat down at his desk leaning back in his chair "Tom Mary just call me Tom" he smiled "i like to keep things informal between managers im sure you realized this when i have walked on the shop floor time to time" his grin was calming all those years in sales and he knew how to put people at ease."but well the person i've found is well my daughter and is that allowed i mean store policy says..."

Tom brushed it off "bah store policy frankly Mary let the legal department deal with that shite. At the end of the day the best people get the job regardless of who they are i mean your the first person I've promoted to floor manager who is a catholic" he leaned forward in his chair when he said this "and i mean no offence sure i mean managers both store and floor have been prods like me but hey!... your good for the role so you deserve it" Mary smiled "thank you for the opportunity so.. should i bring my daughter in" Mr Walsh poured more Tic Tacs on his hand and threw them into his mouth at the end of today his breath would stink of breath mints good think too as it hid the smell of tobacco "sure bring her in."

Mary lifted herself out of the seat and opened the office door "Erin come on in their is someone i want you to meet" Erin looked towards the door frame and straighted the crease in her trousers and stood up "ok mammy" she peaked into the room to see a balding man leaning back on his office chair looking at her "So your Mary's daughter and do you have what it takes eh" he leaned forward into his chair and put his hands together "well....do you Erin eh?" sternly that last bit came out of his mouth. Erin froze on the spot not sure what to say they he started laughing which made her more confused.

"im just messing with ya.. oh it works every time... take a seat ive got a contract for you to sign you ever worked in a shop before" Erin sat down on the warm seat that her mother left vacant "well no.. unless ye count the time i used to pretend with my cousin but i was 5" Mr Walsh pushed the contract towards her "so a natural then well if you can sell plastic fruit to people then this should be a piece of piss.... i just have one rule.. Dont do anything that will make me sack ya.. the customer needs a good customer experience" Erin nodded sure she could do that she believed well better than Orla who would be sacked on her first day.

Erin scribbled her name onto the contract putting her best handwriting onto the signature. "Welcome to the team young lady... now Mary give her the tour of the shop and get a uniform from the back i need to make some calls." Tom picked up the phone handled and pressed a few buttons on the phone "David!!! how are ya... yeah yeah they both accepted the job so scrap the job advert" he waved them out of the room and proceded to put his feet on the desk as the door closes behind Erin and her mother as they left the office.


	3. Induction day

"Right Erin listen to me and i will say this only once..*Mary pointed her finger at her daughter the tip of it almost touching Erin's nose* at home i am your ma but at work i am your boss you understand one of my new roles is to train up the new staff and so i expect you to understand this" Erin put her hands in the pockets and looked at the finger that was almost touching the tip of her nose. "yes Ma" Mary put her hand away "good just please try and do a good job we need the money. now i need to find you a uniform follow me."

Erin was led down a small hallway on the walls were boards with lists of staff and daily sales and targets expected. there was also a picture of the CEO of Woolworths and a generic message to the staff about what supposedly sets Woolworth apart from its competitors. They both stopped at a door which read "locker room" upon opening the door the first thing that grated them in the middle of the room was a large open cardboard box "Erin there will be some spare uniform in there reach in and pull out some i will see to it you get a locker key and a name badge.. no messing about now" Mary made sure she turned on the light to the room before she closed the door after her leaving Erin to rummage in the box pulling out pieces of red clothing questioning if they had even been washed."

Mary meanwhile was searching for a name tag and there was one that was pre-made for her it read "Erin Happy to help!" just as Mary picked up the name badge Mr Walsh came into the room "oh Mary i thought i should say being a manager there is different uniform for you i expect a blazer and suit trousers for ya" Mary was a bit nervous she didn't have either one of those things gerry's trousers didnt even fit her "dont worry Mary the store will provide some just give the measurements you need and they will order it in for ya.. any luck on the uniform for Erin?"

"Ma i think this is too big the sleeves almost cover my arms" Erin apparent in the door way her whole top half of her body covered by a big red jumper with a red polo shirt underneath. "not to worry mary we can also order a proper fit for erin let us know and we can order it in now show her the floor and give her our training manual." Mr Walsh threw a few tic tacs in his mouth and walked away not saying anymore clearing he said what he needed to say and didnt want to linger around but instead wanted to go to his office and watch the cctv footage of the shop floor.

Erin was then dragged to the staff room where a few women around Mary's age was sitting around minding their business "girls this is my daughter erin she is our newest member" they looked up from what they were doing "oh hello Erin!" they smiled and spoke in unison "they have worked her as long as me erin so we are almost family.. of Woolworth had a family to speak off" they all laughed this off except erin who was still a bit nervous. "you given her the training manual yet?" one of the lady's pointed over to the spare manual that was resting on a table. Mary grabbed the manual and gave it to Erin "you love reading wain now read this its important you cant work here otherwise" Erin flicked through the thick manual it was more than a manual it even had inventory of stock "you expect me to remember this ma" Mary scoffed "aye i do besides when you get on the shop floor and you walk around the isles i will be a piece of cake trust me whats the worst that can go wrong."

Erin kept her head down "the amount of times sister Michael has had to call you at school tells you what could go wrong" Mary put her hand on her shoulder "well don't worry because she isnt here i am..now i need you to help me organise the shelves and stack them i think the alcohol isle needs stocking first so go to the storage room following the signs of the walls (Erin felt as if she needed a note pad to write all of this down it was coming out at a fast pace) "grab the trolley full of alcohol and take it to the lift to bring it down to the shop floor i will wait by the lift doors."


	4. Waste of a good bottle

Erin grasped the handle of the metal trolley carrying open boxes full of alcohol bottles and cans "for god sake this is a lot of alchoal does derry drink this much?" pushing it down the hallway she looked out of a window onto the street. For a split second she felt like a bird in a cage and could see the outdoors is this what working in a supermarket feels like to those who work here she had already been here for over a hour and she felt like she was in a cage her creative freedom trapped by a job that she didnt really want but it was either the job or the wooden spoon and she didn't want the wooden spoon thats for certain.

"Come on Erin this stock needs to go on the shelves we need to put more stuff on afterwards this is the first of many you will be doing." Mary pressed the faded button to call the lift up to the storage level "ma do you think they could get well... someone else to do this job cause you know im a creative individual and well manual labor is not for me." Mary crossed her arms "so you want to work in marketing then and the advertisements?" Erin nodded which made Mary cross her arms even tighter "well in that case if you dont want this job i bet you would love to wash Mr Joyce's car instead or maybe sent you to a farm and work there." Erin looked at her nails and the though of getting dirt or something a lot worse made her shudder "god no.. ok fine i will work here then." Mary put her hand on her daughters shoulder "grand so now get in the lift."

*SHOP FLOOR! DOORS OPENING!" the big metal doors opened to the sound of the beeping of the tills and the endless conversation of multiple customers but Erin couldn't see them just the endless wall of stock on a empty isle. "Erin now make sure you don't hit anyone and remember put a smile on ye face your new i want ya to charm the elderly people imagine your granda shops here." The first thought that came to her mind at that thought is her granda shouting at her da who was unfortunate to get a job where he did the weekly shop but thankfully that wasn't the case he worked as a delivery driver so didn't have to see her granda unless he crossed the road in front of him and would give him a stare worse that a solider, policeman or provo pointing a gun at him.

when they finally got to the alcohol section Mary pointed to the shelves "you see those empty shelves but these wee bottles one the right shelves and read the signs Mary taped the trolley "proper job erin i know what you are like you cant skive this one." Erin picked up her first bottle that she went to place on the shelf 'JAMESON Original' "right now where does this go?" she was eyeing the labels on the shelves trying to figure out where it was meant to go until she heard a familiar voice "Miss Quinn i trust your not planning on buying that?!" Erin shirked and dropped the bottle on a the ground with a large crash and looked over her shoulder "Sister Michael oh god.. no no no i wasnt planning to buy it you see i.." Sister Michael was eyeing her uniform "well i see you work here now.. and you have just wasted a perfectly good bottle of whiskey going out of your pay"

Erin looked around her shoes at the whiskey on the floor "did you want that bottle sister?" Sister Michael looked in the trolley and pulled out another bottle among the cardboard boxes "yes and no Miss Quinn its for religious purposes not for myself" Erin was puzzled "hang on they dont use whiskey in church do they?" a statement she regretted as it earned a stare from sister Michael as if knives were pointing at her direction "well if you must know i got papal dispensation to use it now get back to work" she clicked her fingers and pointed to the spillage and walked off. "Dear God Erin what did you do?!"


	5. Oh no... not him!

Following the wee incident involving the smashing of a bottle Mary believed in was probably better to stick on a check out till to do some till training perhaps maybe then she would have to deal with any further incidents involving customers and regular customers at that. "why would my head teacher shop here mammy she knows you work here? and she doesn't like me?" Mary turned Erin round "listen here Erin i dont care if a orange man walked in here or Ian paisley or even Gerry Adams you will serve them and not say or complain about it to me is that clear?" Erin hated it when her ma became a dictator to her. Sure she felt that she was in prison and her ma was her jailor christ she should have paid more attention to that film they got from pirate Pauline the one about the fella who goes to prison and escapes.  
  
having been lead over to a empty till Mary had Erin sit in the swivel chair that was facing the till and the scanner. "now Erin this is pretty easy you just scan a item like so... (Mary reached for a packet of mars bars and scanned the barcode on the back and then placed the packet in the bagging area to the left of the till) and put it there and leave the customer to bag up their shopping. Unless its a elderly person then best help packing them." Erin turned round in the chair "i dunno mammy im all about people being independent and well why cant they do it themselves." Mary if she was at home would have wanted to pull out the wooden spook for that remark. "you expect a old person to ba their own shopping sure you would help you granda wouldn't you... now look here comes a fella now and remember put forward your best impression and ..(on closer inspection of the customer Mary's mood changed) oh christ is Colm."

Colm walked over to the till carrying a few bottles of beer that Erin has just put out earlier and a few other items "Afternoon Mary and Erin is here now are you grand so" he placed his items on the conveyor belt leaving erin to find the bar codes and to scan them "im was on my way to see Joe so i was planning to have a beer with him. God i remember when we both used to sneak out to buy some beer oh your grandma was so livid so she was Mary and i said to myself says I Colm its a good thing your da invested in new wood for the stairs only the boards used to creek so they did but that's another story i shalt bore ya with the details." Mary rolled her eyes "its err 8 pounds Colm"

Uncle Colm reached into his coat and pulled out his wallet and began fumbling through the compartments to try and find some change "i have a few coins Erin i need to use.. i remember when we were wee you remember Mary they had these wee coins called Shillings and you used to get 12 of them to make a pound so you did in fact when your da and i were wee they had a different face on the side you remember him he was the queens da so he was.. and then i remember this Mary very well so i do then that when i was really tiny they had another fella on it (Erin by this point wanted to bang her head against the till) you know the man.. had a wee scandal about marrying a american catholic so he did caused quite a stir i think Edward was his name." 

Mary at this point looked to the queue of people who were waiting to be served " look Colm we cant talk we have customers to serve here" Colm looked towards the people behind him with a somewhat vacant expression "ok then but i will speak to you later on the phone i need to talk to someone about my right leg sure its playing up so it is but again i shalt bore you with the details now." sensing another rambling on Erin stood up "uncle colm shut up and leave please!" the shop turned silent with everyone looking at erin "What?!" she looked around to see many eyes fixated at her "What did i do wrong?! hes a boring fella?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Mini history lesson)  
> For those of you who didn't know  
> prior to the 15th feb 1971 The UK didn't have decimal type coinage like the US Doller so 20 shillings was a pound (12pence in a shilling). a shilling was 12p and half a shilling was a sixpence. half of a sixpence was threepence or thruppence as it was know. Don't get me started on half pennies haha.
> 
> The fellas on the coins would have been King George VI (reigned from 1936-1952) who is Queen Elizabeth II's father he famously had a stutter shown in the film "The King's Speech." Edward was King Edward VIII (who reigned from January 1936 to December 1936) famously he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson who was a american Catholic divorcee this wasn't approved of by parliament, the prime minister at the time (Stanley Baldwin) or the Archbishop of Canterbury which lead to Edward try to comprise which didn't work which lead to his abdication. Edward VIII was also known to be outspoken in his political views and opinions which for the UK monarch is against royal tradition.


	6. Lunch break and catching up

"so hows the new job at the supermarket going service with a smile i hope?" a familiar voice greeted Erin as she was sitting on a bench eyeing the plain cheddar cheese sandwich that greeted her in her lunchbox. she looked up to see James greeting her with a smile on his goofy face "why are you in such a good mood?" she shuffled aside to allow James to sit himself next to her "well i guess i have a decent job working in a 2nd hand bookshop." Erin forgot about that actually that was a lie she did know all about it and she was jealous of that fact sure his auntie didn't drag him to the hospital to learn how to dress wounds he was able to independently look for work and not have a guardian deciding for him.

"Sounds kinda boring james i mean my job is better you know scanning items and getting discount on food plus i like the look of this uniform mammy says it suits me" Erin stared down at her uniform that she wished she didn't have to wear sure she noticed that James was wearing just causal clothes with a small white badge _**'hi my name is James happy to help'**_ "i bet your boss is a dick to ya cause your english i mean its wrong to discriminate based on your identity james" "but" James attempt to correct her was blocked by her monologue "you know james i think its illegal ya know i mean if i was your boss i wouldnt treat ya different being English and all. Least i would be more decent that michelle sure she would call you dicko this and dicko that."

"actually erin! my boss is nice to me he is a elderly gentleman he used to work at the university library and loves his books we read books when we arnt serving customers. i even found a book on the history of doctor who and a book on makeup for my mum cause its her birthday next month she would love it. it even has a section on eyebrows and its looks new its amazing what you find working in a bookshop Erin." Erin felt a part of her wanting to slap james for in her eyes rubbing it in her face but he didnt mean to rub it in he was just liking his job more than Erin did.

"So is Michelle working with ya she would find every book about sex or vodka or.." James shook his head "no she got a job selling makeup in primark apparently she is good at it but well she likes to try the products on herself so she probably has lots of makeup on like a clown probably... but dont tell her i said that or she would beat me up." Erin laughed "na i wont tell her *she looked at her watch* shite i have to go ive only got 15 mins at the moment apparently i dont work enough hours to get more." Erin stood up and dusted off her backside "i will see your around yeah."

"yeah cool see you later.. hey when you finish your shift have a visit at the bookshop sure my shift finishes at 6 and yours finishes at 4." James waved back at her as she walked back into the shop "hey erin wait!" Erin turned around to look at a smiling goof on the bench "yeah james" "Service with a smile Erin!"

"Feck off Maguire!" 


	7. Change of departments

When her lunch break was finished Erin found herself being taken off the food department and being marched to her mother to the clothing section of the store where Erin was lead to a carousel filled with women's tops and trousers a change of place from the isles of frozen food and the cold air from the fridges radiating to the food tills which make it a chilly place to work.

"Now Erin listen to me" a straight finger pointing at the nose a a scowl on the face from her mother "the boss wants you to learn all the departments says he wants the employees to be flexible now i need you to learn how to sell clothes." Erin put her hands in her pockets "ma if its like selling food its very easy i mean you don't have to tell me how to sell clothes look at me ma *she pointed her herself and beamed a big smile* im a great salesperson." Mary eyed a certain someone coming into the clothing section and nodded her head "well it that case Ms Im a great salesperson sell a piece of clothing to that person then."

Erin looked round to notice a familiar person walking up towards her. her face clearing covered in makeup that she had obviously tried on throughout the day "alright Erin tought break working with you ma nightmare." Mary slipped away as Erin had her back towards her "So erin you work in clothing thats grand cause i need some help getting some knickers im planning to buck some lad tonight and i need a new pair of knickers and a bra perhaps as well gotta have some sexy baps for the lads erin."

Once again Erin regretted the choice of job that she had she should have never complained for money cause now she had to listen to her best friend ramble on about how a new pair of knickers would make her hole sexy or how she wanted a wonder bra cause it would make the fellas look at her. Taking her over to the underwear section of the clothing department Michelle's eyes roaming around the display "class Erin really class wait where are you going?" she noticed how Erin attempted to shuffle away from her to go anywhere but there.

"i was just going to help someone else Michelle im sure you can manage yourself" her attempts to escape michelle's grab was a failure as Michelle was not having any of it "but Erin i need you to measure my baps to help get e a new bra." Now if Erin was holding something in her hands she would have dropped it on the floor the mere thought of that made her feel sick "michelle i will never..never ever measure your bra for you i don't care how good friends we are." Michelle sulked "ach christ erin your no fun your like james hey i bet the only tits he has seen is in one of those wee books in the bookshops christ i bet he hates it there."

"Well actually..." Erin couldn't get the chance to defend James because a elderly lady wearing a Woolworth unifrom one of Erin's co workers showed up "hi is their a problem i can help with?" the smell of coffee and cigarettes overwhelming the both of them. "oh aye we are fine Erin here is just going to help me measure for a bra." Erin scowled at Michelle clearly she wouldn't get away with this. "Well Erin let me give you the tape measure and you can get round to it" Michelle smirked "yeah Erin get round to it."


End file.
